Hey guys & gals - after 2k miles and 2 months, I'm now having a problem with the battery.

After sitting in my garage for a week, I couldn't start - dead, dead, dead (i.e. the remote wouldn't even unlock the doors). I jumped it and everything seemed OK for a few weeks.

Yesterday AM - about 36 hours in the garage since last drive - same thing (no remote, no lights, totally dead). Again, jumped it and all was OK. Even made a few stops during the trip and no problems starting-up. This morning, it's "mostly dead" ... lights, a few turns when I try to start - then nothing.

I'm waiting on TLC to come over to jump, so thought I'd post this to see if anyone else is having this prob before I call the dealer and schedule service. I'm perplexed - nothing plugged in to the ports (that was the first thing I did - disconnect the phone charger & ipod charger from the center power port) and no lights left on. I don't think that there's a critter triggering the alarm - we'd hear that.

Cheers - and happy holidays!
-mj

 

MJ-Boss Im no battery expert but I can tell you this. Batteries consist of six cells. There is usually some kind of initial shock or drain that kills the bettery. What happens is one or two of the cells go dead or bad. Now every time you jump the car the bettery is not charging to full capicity because it will only charge say 4 cells. So with the colder weather it is not enough to start the car. I would say that replacething the battery would do the trick. When they replace the bettery and you have ran it for a day the new bettery should be like 12.6 volts. If the new baterry is not at that than there is a problem with the charging system and the battery is not the culprit. Also when you jumped the car did you notice if you turn on the headlights for instance that the interior stereo lights and whatnot would dim a little. That means the battery is not getting charged and there is a problem with your charging system. Acura uses cheap batterys so most likely just an isolated incident and a new batterty will fix the problem. When cells go bad in batterys they just get worse and worse. Let us know how it turns out.

 

Yeah, if you are sure there is nothing draining the battery, I would say you probably got a bad one. Ask them to replace it. Good luck!

 

I have counted at least three dead battery stories on this forum (4 including yours). My battery had a "bad cell" which died just at 2000 miles, similar to yours. I think Acura better get after their supplier.

 

A possible answer for those experiencing weak cold-starts...

3k miles for me, no problems yet. Just a few weak starts on cold days.

 

you can also check by disconnecting the neg terminal while the car is running, if it still runs then alternator is charging appropriately....not for those who dont know much about cars, as you could hurt yourself...then again if you didnt, you probably wouldnt be here

 

I had the same problem after returning from a ten day vacation. Then about two weeks later the car sat for two days and the same problem. Took it to my dealer but could not find a problem.

 

2 week old car - driven 20 miles (literally). I left for a 10 day vacation and just returned. The battery is dead. Nothing plugged into the cig lighters, no accessories left on. I think this is a problem on RDX's

 

I left the car in my cold garage (Wichita, KS) from 12/23 to 1/3 for vacation and it started right up on the 1/4. No problem with the battery here.

 

Same here. Mine sat for 11 days over the holidays and started just fine. Maybe a bad batch of batteries from the supplier?

 

Sorry it took me so long to report back the final results...

Kudos to Acura of Boston ... after getting a jump from TLC, I called the dealer - 10:45am Saturday. They said to swing over, and if it was a battery-swap, they could do it immediately.

The diags. on the battery indicated that at least one of the cells was completely toast and the total capacity of the battery was barely enough to start the car. I'm thinking that the cell was killed the 1st time I left the car for 7 days w/o driving it and it needed a jump.

Sounds like there may have been a batch of 'so so' batteries? It's something I'll keep an eye on.

Cheers,
mj

 

Dead battery cells can usually be detected with a voltmeter, 12.6 Volts being a good battery not being charged, each cell is 2.2 volts so subtract the difference to tell.

Caution about the note that mentioned disconnecting the battery when the car is running, this could cause extensive damage to the vehicles electrical system (computers etc) either right away or in the future (walking wounded).

 

Just started having the same problems. Swung by the dealer and they said there was a bad cell and replaced the battery. My question is did everyone with a replacement battery have a differant one than the one that came from the factory. Mine says 100 month warranty acura battery and does not have a green eye to check charge. Is this battery good? Did anyone else with a replacement get one like this. It seems to work great and start I just thought the one that came with the car seemed better. Thanks

 

My battery died on first day, after spending about 1.5 hours playing with all the new toys. After sitting for about 20 minuites car started up but had to have dealer reset Nav system, wich they acted like they did not know how to do - they never questioned the battery, however.

Car is just month old and now and has been having slow cold starts, it is very slow to crank up. It is very cold this week, but not the past three. It has had chance to sit at airport 3 times now for no more than 4 days but still starts.

Guess I have to look forward to a trip to the dealer soon, if what I read is correct.

Why dont they tell us this stuff!!!

 

My replacement was the same as the one you are describing. I had also wondered if it was some cheap replacement my dealership was trying to get away with, but noticed it had an Acura labeled, so I decided it must be okay. I have had no problems since this replacement. It does have a sort of old-school look to it though.

 

Ditto here, as I reported in this thread. I strongly suspect the Tech Pkg components draw quite a bit from the battery even with the ignition switched off, so if the RDX isn't driven for several days, the battery sees substantial discharge.

 

Cool, thanks for the replies guys, just wanted to make sure I wasnt the only one with the oldschool looking battery. I have to say though this battery seems ten times better than the one that came with the car as far as starting and when sitting for a while before starting.

 

I bet they just replaced it with a generic Acura/Honda 35N battery, probably with more amps than the stock battery. Usually the OEM batteries that come with the car are fairly cheap and have just enough amps for the particular vehicle. I am sure they cut costs as much as they can on the production part. Replacement batteries are probably generic enough to work in several models, and may have higher amp ratings.

Does it say what the amp ratings are on the replacement battery? One of us could look at the stock battery and see what it's rated for.

 

I will check later and let you know. I bet you are right. I just got in from the gym and am feeling to lazy to go down to the garage and check.

 

FWIW, my new RDX had a dead battery when I first looked at it prior to the sale. The salesman had it replaced & said someone had probably left one of the map lights on. Coincidence?

 

I think the map lights shut off automatically after a while.

 

I seem to recall getting in an RDX in a showroom that had one of the lights left on (someone flipped the switch) and the battery was almost totally dead. It was either one of the map lights or the dome lights. Almost all of the RDXs I looked at in showrooms had a weak battery and did some weird stuff (like not enough juice to flip the door locks or open the rear hatch). At some dealerships, they just disconnect the battery to avoid the problems all together.

 

At the first dealer I looked at the car they kept having to bring their charger over and hook it up to the RDX in the showroom every time I wanted to do anything with it. On the other hand, it looked like it was there semi-permanently. It probably hadn't been driven in months.

 

Out of curiosity, how is everyone starting their car in cold weather?

The manual says not to use the gas.

Thanks in advance.

 

Just turn the key. Since fuel injection showed up 20+ years ago, that's all you should do.

 

I had a strange mishap with my RDX (purchased in December; 2K miles).

I was trying to set the door locks to default to unlock all doors, rather than just the driver's door, when the shift lever is moved into park. I went through all the steps in the manual, and managed to change the default setting. The only issue was - I could not get the key out of the ignition . After I and several friends and strangers could not get the key out, I finally left the key in and just locked the car with another key (I know, not smart).

The next day, my battery was drained, most likely because some of the electrical systems stay engaged when the key is in (?). Took it in to the dealer (after getting a jump) and they had to replace my shifter assembly.

Good thing I still had my '97 3.0 to get me to work!

 

Are you sure you have the car in Park when you try to take the key out? I've had this problem because I'm conditioned for driving a manual, so I sometimes forget to shift to park before I try to take the key out.

 

Not an uncommon problem, and related to the similar issue where a car might not start because the shifter/starter park interlock is flukey. If either problem happens to anyone, you can fix it in 99% of cases by jiggling the shifter and/or sliding it through the gears and back into park. May still require service if the problem happens more than once in a blue moon.

 

I did have it in park. They said that the gear shift was somehow not registering that it was in park. I think I did something to it while attempting to reprogram the door locks, although they didn't think there was a connection.

(BTW are you really 100?)

 

Thanks!

Too bad you don't work for roadside assistance. When I called them to ask for help, the only solution they had was to tow it to the dealer!

 

2nd time with a dead battery for me - just like the last time, I left the car for 10 days. Return and it is dead. I've been having cold start issues (and I live in California, so cold is 40 to 45 degree mornings)

I will call roadside and head to the dealer for a replacement tomorrow.

Last time, the dealer tested the battery and said all cells were normal.

This shouldn't be happening on a car with 2k miles on it.

 

As you can see, I've had the same problem and I'm also in SoCal... ...and although my RDX started this morning, it was cranking very slowly!

 

They just came and jumped it. i drove the car for 15 minutes afterwards. Then parked and turned it off for an hour - dead again. Roadside is coming back. I love this car - but sometimes it annoys me more than a Japanese car should....

 

Demand a new battery from your dealer - and fwiw, I agree with that sentiment.

 

This battery problem is Acura wide! It is being exhibited on almost all makes of cars when they are left for what is not a very long time. I had the batery replaced in my wifes 04 TL 6 weeks ago. The car sat for 2 1/2 weeks and when I went out to start it yesterday the battery was dead.
I talked to folks at the dealer and this battery issue is truly there and it appears to be worst in the RL.
The dealers are replacing batteries in brand new casr when they go for a couple of weeks without starting. This appears to be an issue. I think that Acura might need to find a real resolution. I paid $100 for a pro-rated battery because they are only warranteed for 36K miles, and now it's dead.

 

Well, I went to to the dealer yesterday and he ran all of the battery tests. No dead cells, he said.

The service manager first insisted that I had done something wrong and kept a light on while I was gone. Yet he also said it is "normal" for all modern cars to have dead batteries after being left greater than 5-10 days and that I should invest in a "trickle" charger. I have owned Infiniti's and BMW's and have never ever seen this issue. It is amazing that a $33k car has this issue.

He then changed his tune and said it was my aftermarket Sirius portable radio that was drawing amps when the car was off. I have never heard of that. I understand that installed OEM electrical items draw charge when the car is off, but to think that a Sirius sportster radio was drawing charge when it was off is nonsense. ALso, 1st time this happened, there was no Sirius in the car.

Need advice from this board: Should I go to another dealer and insist on a new battery (dead twice - each time left longer than 5 days) or just buy an after-market battery (Interstate 24F ranks very highly on Cons Reports) and have my local mechanic install it?

The dealer yesterday claimed that I would "blow out" my RDX's electrical system if I bought an aftermarket Interstate battery with higher Cold Cranking Amps. I find that hard to believe.

The dealer in question is Mike Hopkins in Redwood City, CA. Needless to say, I was unimpressed with the service manager - my first and LAST time there

 

I too am having a battery-like problem. First went dead in December. They switched out the battery with the one without the green thingy. After sitting at SFO for two weeks...dead again. This time with a check engine light and message. (btw, Tech Pkg). Took it back to the dealer today. They are apparently going to change out the main computer!

 

I wish I saw this thread sooner. I came out to a dead battery as well. But it was only after 3 hours! I didn't have time to wait for TLC, so I just jumped it myself. It seemed fine after that. And the next day, it started fine.

I dropped it off this morning, they ran all the tests and said it looked fine. And to keep an eye on it. I definately will knowing there is an actual problem. I just hope I don't get stuck anywhere.

 

Mine has been taking a little long (perhaps too long) to start lately. It's subtle, but the amount I have to hold the key hard over has gone from maybe a couple of tenths of a second to over half a second. The first time I noticed it was after owning it for about 3 weeks and I turned the key for about the time it normally took to start it and let go out of habit and the start failed. Since then I've had to pay attention and listen for it catching rather than just timing it by force of habit...

 

So it's been a few months, has anyone confirmed this problem being the car or the battery? I am interested in this since I am considering buying this car but I will be leaving it unused for several weeks at a time and don't want to have to jump it all the time, obviously. (Trickle charge is not an option, I live in NYC and will have it in a garage...)